Semiconductor element memory device

Abstract

On a substrate Sub, a semiconductor base material (Si pillar) that stands on the substrate in a vertical direction or that extends along the substrate in a horizontal direction a first impurity layer and a second impurity layer that are disposed on respective ends of the semiconductor base material, a first gate conductor layer, and a second gate conductor layer that surround the semiconductor base material between the first impurity layer and the second impurity layer, and a channel semiconductor layer are disposed. Voltages are applied to perform a memory write operation of discharging a group of electrons from the channel semiconductor layer and retaining some of a group of positive holes in the channel semiconductor layer generated inside the channel semiconductor layer by a gate-induced drain leakage current, and a memory erase operation of discharging the group of positive holes retained in the channel semiconductor layer.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A semiconductor memory device comprising:
 a semiconductor base material that stands on a substrate in a vertical direction relative to the substrate or that extends along the substrate in a horizontal direction; 
 a first impurity layer and a second impurity layer that are disposed at respective ends of the semiconductor base material; 
 a first gate insulating layer that partially or entirely surrounds a side surface of the semiconductor base material between the first impurity layer and the second impurity layer and that is in contact with or in close vicinity to the first impurity layer; 
 a second gate insulating layer that partially or entirely surrounds the side surface of the semiconductor base material, that is connected to the first gate insulating layer, and that is in contact with or in close vicinity to the second impurity layer; 
 a first gate conductor layer that covers the first gate insulating layer; 
 a second gate conductor layer that covers the second gate insulating layer; and 
 a channel semiconductor layer that is the semiconductor base material and that is constituted by a first channel semiconductor layer covered by the first gate insulating layer and a second channel semiconductor layer covered by the second gate insulating layer, wherein 
 a memory write operation is performed by controlling voltages applied to the first gate conductor layer, the second gate conductor layer, the first impurity layer, and the second impurity layer to perform an operation of discharging a group of electrons among the group of electrons and a group of positive holes through the first impurity layer or the second impurity layer, the group of electrons and the group of positive holes being generated inside the channel semiconductor layer in a first boundary region between the first impurity layer and the channel semiconductor layer or in a second boundary region between the second impurity layer and the channel semiconductor layer by a gate-induced drain leakage current, and an operation of keeping some or all of the group of positive holes retained in the channel semiconductor layer, and 
 a memory erase operation is performed by controlling the voltages applied to the first gate conductor layer, the second gate conductor layer, the first impurity layer, and the second impurity layer to discharge the group of positive holes through either the first impurity layer or the second impurity layer or both the first impurity layer and the second impurity layer. 
 
     
     
       2. The semiconductor memory device according to  claim 1 , wherein
 in the memory erase operation, a first PN junction between the first impurity layer and the channel semiconductor layer and a second PN junction between the second impurity layer and the channel semiconductor layer are kept in a reverse bias state. 
 
     
     
       3. The semiconductor memory device according to  claim 1 , wherein
 a source line is connected to the first impurity layer, a bit line is connected to the second impurity layer, and when a word line is connected to one of the first gate conductor layer or the second gate conductor layer, a first driving control line is connected to the other of the first gate conductor layer or the second gate conductor layer, and 
 the memory erase operation or the memory write operation is selectively performed in accordance with voltages applied to the source line, the bit line, the first driving control line, and the word line. 
 
     
     
       4. The semiconductor memory device according to  claim 3 , wherein
 the bit line is orthogonal to the word line in plan view. 
 
     
     
       5. The semiconductor memory device according to  claim 1 , wherein
 a first gate capacitance between the first gate conductor layer and the channel semiconductor layer is larger than a second gate capacitance between the second gate conductor layer and the channel semiconductor layer. 
 
     
     
       6. The semiconductor memory device according to  claim 5 , wherein
 the first gate capacitance is made larger than the second gate capacitance by any of making a first channel length of the first gate conductor layer longer than a second channel length of the second gate conductor layer, making the first gate insulating layer thinner than the second gate insulating layer, or making a relative dielectric constant of the first gate insulating layer higher than a relative dielectric constant of the second gate insulating layer, or by a combination thereof. 
 
     
     
       7. The semiconductor memory device according to  claim 1 , wherein
 the first impurity layer and the second impurity layer are N-type semiconductor layers, and the channel semiconductor layer is a P-type semiconductor layer or a neutral semiconductor layer, and 
 in response to a start of the memory erase operation, the memory erase operation is performed by performing 
 a group-of-positive-holes discharge operation in which the first impurity layer is set at a voltage lower than a voltage of the channel semiconductor layer, a first PN junction between the first impurity layer and the channel semiconductor layer is forward biased, and the group of positive holes are discharged from the channel semiconductor layer to the first impurity layer, and 
 a group-of-positive-holes discharge stop operation that is subsequently performed and in which the first impurity layer is set at a voltage higher than the voltage of the channel semiconductor layer, the first PN junction is reverse biased, and discharging of the group of positive holes is stopped. 
 
     
     
       8. The semiconductor memory device according to  claim 1 , comprising:
 the semiconductor base material that is formed perpendicular to a substrate; 
 the first impurity layer that is formed in the semiconductor base material in a vicinity of the substrate; 
 the first channel semiconductor layer that is formed on the first impurity layer in the semiconductor base material; 
 the second channel semiconductor layer that is formed on the first channel semiconductor layer in the semiconductor base material; 
 the second impurity layer that is formed on the second channel semiconductor layer in the semiconductor base material; 
 the first gate insulating layer that surrounds the first channel semiconductor layer; 
 the second gate insulating layer that surrounds the second channel semiconductor layer; 
 the first gate conductor layer that surrounds the first gate insulating layer; 
 the second gate conductor layer that surrounds the second gate insulating layer; and 
 a first insulating layer that is disposed between the first gate conductor layer and the second gate conductor layer.